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Friday, July 14, 2017

Paul arrested in Jerusalem

Paul arrested 1When Paul arrived back in Jerusalem, he was warned by James there were false rumours spreading that Paul had been teaching Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses and ignore other Jewish customs. Paul arrested 2To disprove these rumours Paul had gone to the temple with four men who were following the Jewish custom of Purification.Paul arrested 3Seven days later some Jews from Asia saw Paul with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they mistakenly assumed Paul had taken him into a part of the Temple gentiles were forbidden to enter. They quickly gathered a mob.

Paul arrested 4They grabbed Paul yelling, ‘Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles.’Paul arrested 5Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him. As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. Paul arrested 6When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul. The commander arrested Paul, had him bound with two chains. and ordered that he be taken to the fortress. The crowd followed behind, shouting, ‘Kill him, kill him!’

Paul arrested 7As Paul was about to be taken inside, the commander asked,‘Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 rebels out into the desert?’ ‘No,’ Paul replied, ‘I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia. Please, let me talk to these people.’The commander agreed and the crowd went silent. Paul arrested 8Paul then explained how he had been brought up and educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel and had persecuted those who were Christians. He told them how Jesus had appeared to him on the way to Damascus and how he had called on the name of the Lord to forgive his sins and had been baptised. Paul arrested 9But when Paul went on to say that God had sent him to bring the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles there was uproar. The crowd yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.

Paul arrested 10The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him to be lashed with whips to make him confess his crime.Paul arrested 11Paul said to the officer nearby, ‘Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried?’Roman citizens could not be punished without a trial. Paul arrested 12When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, ‘What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!’

Paul arrested 13The commander went over and asked Paul, ‘Are you a Roman citizen?’‘Yes, I certainly am,’ Paul replied.‘I am, too,’ the commander muttered, ‘and I had to pay a lot of money to get citizenship!’Paul answered, ‘But I am a citizen by birth!’Paul was untied immediately. Paul arrested 14The next day the commander ordered the leading priests into session with the Jewish high council. He wanted to find out what the trouble was all about, and brought Paul before them. Paul arrested 15.Paul began: ‘Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!’Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth. ‘What kind of judge are you to break the law by ordering me struck like that?’ Paul asked.

Paul arrested 16Paul knew that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!’Paul arrested 17The council began arguing among themselves as the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believed in all of these. In the uproar that followed the commander was afraid for Paul’s safety and ordered his soldiers to rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress.Paul arrested 18That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, ‘Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.’

Paul arrested 19The next morning a group of Jews got together and made an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. Paul arrested 20They went to the leading priests and elders and told them, ‘We have made an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. So you and the high council should ask the commander to bring Paul back to the council again so we can kill him on the way.’ Paul arrested 21But Paul’s nephew, his sister’s son, heard of their plan and went to the fortress and told Paul. Paul asked one of the Roman officers, ‘Take this young man to the commander. He has something important to tell him.

Paul arrested 22After hearing about the plot, the commander called two of his officers and ordered, ‘Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops. Provide horses for Paul to ride, and get him safely to Governor Felix.’ He gave them the following letter for Governor Felix: Paul arrested 23‘This man was seized by some Jews who were about to kill him when I arrived with troops. When I learned that he was a Roman citizen, I removed him to safety. Their accusations against him are about their religious law but nothing worthy of imprisonment or death. I was informed of a plot to kill him, so I immediately sent him on to you. I have told his accusers to bring their charges before you.’ Paul arrested 24That night, the soldiers escorted Paul as far as Antipatris. They returned to the fortress the next morning, while the mounted troops took Paul on to Caesarea. ‘I will hear your case myself when your accusers arrive,’ the governor told Paul.

Paul arrested in JerusalemPaul is falsely accused and arrested in Jerusalem.Acts 21:27-23:35